Grapple



Dec. 19, 1950 w. T. FULTON 2,534,512

GRAPPLE Filed June 6, 1945 Isuncnfor Patented Dec. 19, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

The present invention relates to a grapple and, rmore particularly, to a bottle or jar grasping and ;lifting tool, useful to housewives, canners and Ebottlers.

*It is my experience that, of the many lifters and carriers to be found in the prior art, the majority are impractical to make or use. A prime criticism with these prior devices is that the grip obtained upon the object to be handled v:is'in direct proportion to the pressure applied by the person using the tool, since these devices usually have a pair of relatively movable jaws that are maintained in the closed position by manual force-alone.

It is an important object of my invention to provide a grapple in which thejaws open merely 'by swinging one of the jaw-carrying members about the axis of the handle, andwhich close and are retained by gravity when the jaw-carrying handle member is permitted toswing downward about its handle axis.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a device of the naturedescr-ibed in which the jaws are maintained about the object being grasped by the weight of the object and 'WlthOLlt any mechanical locking together of the jaws or :the employment of other means of retaining them together, manual or otherwise.

A further object of the invention-resides in the provision of a device of the nature described which may be manufactured simply and assembled without difiiculty, and which is strong and :durable and easy to manipulate.

The foregoing objects and others ancillary thereto, I prefer to accomplish as follows:

According to a preferred form of my invention, I provide a first and a second pair of arms, each of which pair is joined together at the lower ends by-a curved jaw-portion and which pairs are arranged together so that the jaw portions are disposed in opnositionsto :eachother, and so that an arm of each pair lies adjacent an ,arm of the other pair. The arms of the first pair are substantially longer than the arms of the second pair, and are bent or shaped intermediate their endsata distance above the jaw slightly lessthan the length of the arms of the second pair to form an obtuse angle on that side of the arms away from the jaw. Each of the first pair of arms has apivotal connection, adjacent thisbend, with the upper ends of the second pair of arms so that the jaws may be swung apart or closed together. The first pair of arms is joined at the upper end to form a handle, by which the grapple may be manipulated to open or close the jaws. In the portions.

closed position, the second pair of arms tend .to

pass the first pair of arms to provide an overlapping relationship between the jaws. When the jaws are closed about the neck of .a bottle or jar, a lift applied to the grapple through the handle will carry with it the object engaged and .theweight of the object will tend to keep the jaws closed. Disengagement of the grapple fromthe object is obtained merely by swinging the first pair of arms about the axisof the handleso that the handle tends to approach the jaw of the-second pair of arms, and theobject will be disengaged, whether setting :upon a support or in mid-air, either of which situations may be desirable under certain circumstances. In the preferred form of my invention, I.fabricate the same from wire, but it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the same maybe satisfactorily formed and equally useful when strap or cast material is used. 1 The novel features that I consider characteristic of my invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its organization .andits method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will best be understood from the following description ofa specific embodiment when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of my grapple;

, Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation of my grapple suggested by the dotted line position of the jaws when open; and v Fig. 3 is a view in elevation taken in a plane at right angles to that shown in Fig. 2.

A grapple, to overcome the defects hereinabove enumerated, must have at least two totally dis tinctcharacteristics: It must be capable of rapid manipulation to open as well as close the jaws about an object to be handled; and itmust also provide a firm grip, disengagea'ble at the will of the operator, but not unintentionally by reason of .any normal movement imparted during .use.

Accordingly, a preferred embodiment of my invention, referring to the figuresof the drawing, constituted by a first member comprisinga handle It, having depending therefrom arms. ,Each arm includes upper portion !2 and lower portion 14, and are arranged together to form an obtuse angle directed toward one side of the handle. The lower ends of thejaws .arejoined by means of a bow-shaped jaw portion I6, which is outstanding on that side of arms I2, I 4, away from the obtuse angle formed between the arm In the present instance, the grapple 3 is formed of wire and I have found that the simplest manner of bending thewire to produce the obtuse angle between members [2 and I4, is to form a convolute pivot eye 18, for a purpose later to be described.

A second jaw member comprises a bow-shaped bight 26 positioned in opposition to bight i5 and having merged therewith at each end of the curved portion an upstanding leg 22, the upper end of which is bent inward to form trunnions, as 24, that in the assembled device, pass through the pivot eyes It, to permit relative swinging movement of the arms and the jaws in the manner suggested by the dotted line showing of Fig. 2. It is to be noted that arm portions 22 are slightly longer than arm portions is, whereby the latter may, in closing about an object, swing past the arms 22, as shown in Fig. 2.

It is also to be noted that when the jaw portions l6 and 2!! are closed about a jar or the like, the two arms i4 and 22 are disposed wholly to one side of a vertical plane A-A, drawn through the pivotal connection of members l8 and 24, as shown in Fig. 2.

It should not be overlooked that in this instance the plane A-A does not coincide with the vertical axis of the object to be gripped, nor the axis of the space enclosed between jaw portions 16 and 2B, which axis coincides substantially with that designated 13-3 in which lies the handle I 0.

By the reason of the arrangement that has been described, when a person uses my grapple, the grapple and the object being gripped will suspend from a persons fingers, as he grasps the handle I0, and the object will han substantially l pr ght therebelow. In this instance, the pivot lies on the side of the hand1e opposite jaw portion It.

By reason of this action, the crossing over of the arm portion M with respect to the arm 22 is maintained.

To remove the grapple from about a jar or other object, all that an operator need do is to swing the handle ID from the solid line position of Fig. 2 toward that indicated by the dotted line showing, whereupon jaw portion H5 swings away from the object, and the jaws will open suificiently to permit disengagement therefrom. Since the arm 22 and the jaw 28 are free to swing, activated largely by gravity when the jaws are open, the grapple is usually moved in the direction in which jaw is positioned and the whole device will come free of the object.

While I have shown and described particular 1. A bottle carrier, comprising: a first mem- ,ber including a bowed portion forming a first jaw merging at each end with an upstanding arm,

each of said arms being in the form of a bell- ,crank directed to that side away from the mouth of said bowed portion and a pivot element at the apex thereof, said arms merging above said pivot elements into a handle, a second member including a bowed portion forming a second jaw, said second member being associated with said first member so that the jaws are in opposition and said second member having an arm upstanding at each end of the bowed portion, each arm including a pivot element co-operable with the pivot element of the adjacent leg of the first member, the sides of the first jaw being of a length to pass the arms of the second jaw so that when a bottle is being gripped said arms diverge as the jaws close, said structure being arranged so that a vertical plane, including the handle and the center of gravity of the load carried by said jaws, excludes said pivot elements.

2. A bottle carrier, comprising: a first member including a bowed portion forming a first jaw merging at each end with an upstanding arm, each of said arms being in the form of a bellcrank and having an obtuse angle to that side away from the mouth of said bowed portion and means forming a pivot eye at the apex of the angle, said arms merging above said pivot eyes into a handle, a second member including a bowed portion forming a second jaw, said second member being associated with said first member so that the jaws are in opposition and said second member having an arm upstanding at each end of the bowed portion, each arm including a trunnion member mounted in the pivot eye of the adjacent arm of the first member, the sides of the first jaw being of a length to pass the arms of the second jaw so that when a bottle is being gripped said arms diverge as the jaws close, said structure being arranged so that a vertical plane, including the handle and the center of gravity of a load carried by said jaws, excludes said pivot eyes.

3. A bottle carrier, comprising: a first member formed of wire and including a bowed portion forming a first jaw merging at each end with an upstanding arm, each of said arms being in the form of a bell-crank and having an obtuse angle to that side away from the mouth of said bowed portion and. a pivot convolute at the apex of the angle, said arms merging above said pivot convolutes into a handle, and a second member formed of wire and including a bowed portion forming a second jaw, said first and second members being associated together so that the jaws are in opposition, said second member having an arm upstanding at each end of the bowed portion, each arm including a trunnion mounted in the pivot convolute of the adjacent arm of the first member, the sides of the first jaw being of a length to pass the arms of the second jaw so that when a bottle is being gripped said arms diverge as the jaws close, said structure being arranged so that a vertical plane, including the handle and the center of gravity of a load carried by said jaws, excludes said pivot convolutes.

WILLIAM T. FULTON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 172,135 Luks Jan. 11, 1876 916,175 Magone Mar. 23, 1909 1,691,254 Robinson Nov. 13, 1928 1,775,309 Culp Sept. 9, 1930 

